Rev. David Holwick X Family Concerns #6
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
August 3, 2008
Ecclesiastes 9:11-12
HARD KNOCKS
I. SOME FAMILIES HAVE IT HARDER THAN OTHERS.
Charles Swindoll tells the story of Ed and Nancy Huizinga,
a family in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
In December 1995 while at church rehearsing for the annual
Christmas program, their home burned to the ground.
But that wasn’t their only tragedy that year.
Just three months earlier, Nancy’s long-time friend, Barb Post,
a widow with two children, died of cancer.
Fulfilling a promise to the dying mother, Nancy and Ed had taken
her two children, Jeff and Katie, into their home.
So when Ed and Nancy’s house burned to the ground just before
Christmas, it wasn’t just their home that was lost;
it was the home of two teenagers who had already lost their
mother and father.
Neighbors organized a party to sift through the ashes and search
for anything of value that might have survived.
One of the first indications they received of God’s involvement
in their struggle came as a result of that search.
Somehow a piece of paper survived.
On it were written these words:
“Contentment: Realizing that God has already provided
everything we need for our present happiness.”
To this family, this was like hearing God speak from a burning
bush.
It was the assurance they needed that He was there and He was
not silent.
The world probably views this as a senseless tragedy.
But Nancy and Ed have seen God reveal Himself to them and refine
them through this fire as He pours out a full measure of grace.
#2102
A. Disasters that you cannot control can sweep over your family.
1) Often, it is through no fault of your own.
2) Like Job, you will have to take it as it comes.
B. How will you respond?
1) You can reject God and dwell on anger.
2) You can sink into depression and self-pity.
3) Or will you respond with faith and courage?
II. PLENTY OF THINGS CAN KNOCK YOUR FAMILY.
A. Poverty.
1) Unemployment.
a) The United States hit a new high this week.
b) Historically it is still low, of course.
1> It is under 6%, while in the Depression it hit 25%.
2> But if you are in the 6%, it hurts.
3> Some in our church are in this boat.
c) When you have to count every penny and there’s still
not enough, stress sets in.
2) Economic reversal.
a) Even if you have a job you can be hurting.
Ed McMahon is a rich guy.
Or at least he WAS a rich guy.
For decades he was the sidekick for Johnny Carson.
Then he was the celebrity spokesman for the American
Family Publishers sweepstake and gave away
$130 million.
He now wishes he had kept some of that.
He is behind $650,000 on his Beverly Hills mortgage and
the bank is starting foreclosure proceedings.
Ed also owes American Express $750,000.
How did a multi-millionaire end up like this?
He says, “I honestly didn’t see it coming.”
On reflection, he notes that he pays big alimony for
two divorces.
He also hasn’t been able to work since breaking his
neck a year-and-a-half ago.
And he didn’t bother to track his finances.
I doubt that Ed McMahon will end up in some gutter.
He has richer friends than you do.
But financial disaster can hit even decent, hard-working
people.
All it takes is a few bumps and your house of cards
begins to tumble down.
b) The decisions of others can outweigh yours.
1> Will Social Security be there for you?
2> Will your pension be funded?
B. Illness and death.
1) Some in this church have taken care of sick loved ones
for years.
2) Even in our modern age, illness can cause financial
devastation and physical incapacity.
3) How would your family cope?
C. Tragedy.
Robert Rogers, his wife, Melissa, and their 4 young children
were in their minivan on their way home from a wedding.
They were on a turnpike in the middle of Kansas at night
when they found their car surrounded by water.
The flash flood was 1,000 feet wide and rising quickly.
First their car stalled, then water seeped under the doors.
As the water rose to the seat cushions, the children began
to wake up and cry.
There was nothing they could do.
So they said over and over, “Jesus save us.”
The Rogers family was Baptist and they memorized Bible
verses together.
So they quoted Psalm 46, “God is my strength, my refuge,
an ever-present help in time of trouble.”
And then they began to praise God, which Robert said felt
kind of strange.
They were used to singing praise songs every night, so they
began to sing, “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High.”
Robert realized the words, “I’m so glad you came to save
us,” gave everyone in the van a sense of peace.
But the water kept rising.
The van was pushed up against a concrete median with water
rushing all around it.
Then the van, along with 5-ton concrete barriers, was
carried into the river.
Robert kicked out the windows and they were all sucked out
of the van.
It was the last time he saw his family alive.
He says even at that worst moment, he felt the presence of
God the most he ever had.
In the emergency room, he looked up and said, “Into your
hands, I commit their spirits.”
He says it had to be the Holy Spirit because it was more
than he as a mortal man could endure.
The bodies of his youngest children were found still strapped
in the submerged van.
It was three days before his wife’s body was found two miles
away.
Instead of turning his back on God, he quit his job and
began a ministry to hurting families.
He says, “If we truly believe what we say we believe, then
my family is not dead -- they are alive, well and happy
with Jesus.
I am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that God allowed
this to happen for a purpose.”
#28898
1) Not everyone believes in a divine purpose in life.
2) Solomon would seem to be in their company.
a) Solomon’s statement that “time and chance happen to
them all” rings true for many people today.
III. LIFE IS RARELY “FAIR.”
A. You don’t always get answers.
1) Not every Christian feels as confident as Robert Rogers.
a) There may be a purpose in every tragedy, but we may
not sense what it is.
b) We cry out for God to speak to us, to give us a sign,
but nothing comes.
2) Some come to the dark conclusion that there is no sign,
no answers, no meaning.
a) Solomon’s statement that “time and chance happen to
them all” rings true for many people today.
b) The philosophy behind “No Country For Old Men.”
Christian writer Regis Nicoll notes that this is a
theme in many Hollywood movies recently.
They hinge on the idea that there is no “guiding hand”
or rational law that governs the cosmos.
There is only chance.
One of the most chilling yarns on this premise is the
2007 Oscar-winner for Best Picture, “No Country For
Old Men.”
The story involves a psychopathic killer, Anton Chigurh,
who embarks on a murderous rampage to recover a
$2 million booty.
After murdering several victims, Chigurh stops at a gas
station, pays for a snack, then asks the attendant,
“What’s the most you ever lost on a coin toss?”
When the attendant says he doesn’t know, Chigurh flips
a coin and tells him to “call it.”
(It’s clear to the audience that if the attendant
guesses wrong, Chigurh will kill him.)
The attendant hesitates, but eventually calls “heads.”
Chigurh lifts his hand from the coin, remarking, “Well
done ... It’s your lucky quarter.”
Chigurh turns and leaves the attendant shaking his head
and quaking.
Near the film’s end, Chigurh makes the same offer to
a woman he intends to kill.
After telling her to “call it,” she refuses.
“The coin don’t have no say. It’s just you.”
Chigurh grins.
“Well, I got here the same way the coin did.”
The scene cuts to Chigurh checking his boots for blood
as he exits her house.
The movie’s tagline - “There are no laws left” - is a
fitting summary of this philosopy.
If life is only “time and chance” then it has no more
meaning than a coin toss.
Laws are just human conventions and you can do what you
want.
#8756
c) Is this what Solomon is teaching?
1> Definitely not. You must understand that
Ecclesiastes deals with two outlooks on life.
A> One is “life under the sun” -- life from a
purely human perspective.
You might call it the “No Country For Old Men”
kind of life.
B> The other outlook on life in Ecclesiastes is
life that includes God in the picture.
Ecclesiastes is a good summary of that
perspective:
“That everyone may eat and drink, and find
satisfaction in all his toil -- this is
the gift of God.”
2> So life seems like a roll of the dice, but God is
still behind the scenes.
A> We just wish he was a little more forthcoming
with the answers.
B> But keep in mind that even Job himself really
didn’t get answers, just bigger questions.
B. You must appreciate the mystery of the cross.
1) A modern Job.
Philip Yancey was researching a book and found a man whose
life closely resembled Job’s.
The man’s name was Douglas and, like Job, he was a model
of godly faithfulness.
Douglas could have been a psychotherapist, which is pretty
lucrative, but he chose ministry instead.
Seven years before, his wife had experienced a series of
cancers in both breasts and then a lung.
A while later, a drunk driver hit their car head-on.
His 12-year-old daughter received a broken arm and severe
cuts on her face from windshield glass.
Douglas himself had a massive blow to his head which
caused excruciating headaches.
His vision was permanently affected.
Impaired at work, he could only read a page or two at a
time.
Yancey asked Douglas about his experience of disappointment
with God.
Douglas thought for a moment and then said, “To tell you
the truth, I didn’t feel any disappointment with God.”
Yancey was stunned by this, but Douglas continued, “The
reason is this.
I learned, first through my wife’s illness and then
especially through the accident, not to confuse God with
life.
I’m no stoic.
I am as upset about what happened to me as anyone could be.
But I believe God feels the same way about that accident
-- grieved and angry.”
Douglas continued, “We tend to think ‘Life should be fair
because God is fair.’ But God is not life.
And if I confuse God with the physical reality of life --
by expecting constant good health, for example -- then I
set myself up for a crashing disappointment.”
Most heroes of the Old Testament went though trials much
like Job’s.
Think of Abraham, Joseph, David, Elijah, Jeremiah, and
Daniel.
For each of them, at times, the physical reality surely
seemed to present God as “the enemy.”
But each man managed to cling to God despite the hardships
of daily life.
To Douglas, there is a better example of his point than Job.
“I challenge you to go home and read again the story of
Jesus.
How ‘fair’ was life to him?
For me, the Cross demolished for all time the basic belief
that life is supposed to be fair.”
2) Good Friday was followed by Easter.
#83
a) The injustice and pain was climaxed by victory.
b) We can only glimpse it by faith, but Jesus promised
it would come.
C. Be as strong as you can, now.
1) The time to be spiritually prepared for disaster is NOW.
a) You may turn to God later, but later may be too late.
2) Meditate on his ways while times are good.
a) You can be certain that the hard times will come.
IV. THERE CAN BE POWER IN PAIN.
A. Overcoming struggles can bind us together.
1) Many testify that tragedy has made them appreciate their
families, and faith, more.
2) This is not guaranteed - many families fail their test.
3) Make sure that yours does not.
B. Overcoming tragedy can give us compassion for others.
1) The earliest Christians were known for their love for
one another, and also for their suffering.
2) The Apostle Paul said the comfort we receive from God in
our troubles is something we can pass on.
C. Overcoming pain helps us appreciate Christ’s sacrifice for us.
1) Our salvation came at a great price.
2) It will give a great reward.
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
The title was inspired by a sermon by Dr. Michael T. Powers.
# 83 “Life Is Not Supposed To Be Fair,” by Philip Yancey, Christianity
Today magazine; Article: “Saturday Seven Days A Week,”
March 18, 1988, p. 64.
# 2102 “The Best Is Yet To Come,” by Charles Swindoll, from internet
sermon by Rev. Frank Vanderzwan, http://www.mppc.org/e_sermons/~
esermon_2000/may_00/5_27_00.html.
# 8756 “A World Without Truth: That’s No Country For Old Men,” by Regis
Nicoll, Breakpoint Worldview Magazine: All Things Examined,
July 18, 2008.
#28898 “Husband Who Lost Wife and Kids in Flash Flood Has No Regrets,” by
Stacey Hamby, Baptist Press, http://www.baptistpress.org,
December 31, 2004.
#35420 “The Sweepstakes Spokesman Wishes He Had Kept Some,” by Bob
Considine (adapted by David Holwick), http://www.msnbc.msn.com/~
id/25237681/, June 18, 2008.
These and 30,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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